Announced at just $249 and already on store shelves for as little as $209 (Newegg), the 6800 GS is a clear winner in the mainstream performance segment. The X1600XT, with the same suggested MSRP of $249 but which still isn't available, can't even come close to it performance wise. Even NVIDIA's own 6800 GT, a 16 pipe card that was regarded as NVIDIA's previous best value graphics card, has a hard time holding off the GS.

What will be interesting to see is how the board partners will improve on the clock speeds. Most of them usually come out with faster than stock variants on NVIDIA reference designs so it's not unrealistic to assume that the same will be done for the GS, especially considering the excellent overclocking it is capable of. It wouldn't have to be much faster to consistently beat out the 6800 GT.

NVIDIA sure knows how to turn the screws, just ask ATI.

Verdict

Don't bother waiting for anything else to appear, the 6800 GS offers us the biggest bang for the fewest bucks of any graphics card we're likely to see anytime soon.

Total Recall

Undeniably, almost unbelievably fast

Price/performance ratio kicks ass

Available right now and for less than the MSRP

The Overclocking Goddess is very pleased with this one too

Single slot, quiet cooler

It's not a tumor!

Last Action Hero

I suppose I could say it lacks dual-DVI, but that's only because I can't think of anything else to go here

Here are some shiny pics to distract you from the fact that this review is a little light in the info department: